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NBA’s Walker Will Go To District Court for Gambling Debts

Posted: Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 at 1:07 pm

A former NBA player will appear in Clark County (NV) District Court later this month, after failing to repay $900,000 in gambling debts.

Antoine Walker was charged in July 2009 with three felony counts of writing bad checks, related to gambling debts he had incurred at Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood and the Red Rock Resort. In November of that year, he had waived his right to a preliminary hearing, with the understanding that he would begin making monthly payments toward the debt. Prosecutors say that the former all-star has paid approximately $135,000 of the total sum.

Walker appeared in Las Vegas Justice Court this morning, before Justice of the Peace Melanie Andress-Tobiasson, who set a date for the basketball player to appear

“So sir, you already did unconditionally waive your preliminary hearing back in November,” she said. “All we’re going to do today is just send this up to district court.”

She added that there were only two possibilities for Walker.

“You will either get it resolved and pay the restitution—I assume if it is paid it will ultimately be reduced—or you’ll go to trial or otherwise deal with it up at district court.”

Walker declared bankruptcy in May, 2010, claiming assets of $4.3 million and debts of $12.7 million. The bankruptcy filing listed four pieces of real estate among Walker’s assets, including a $2.3 million Miami home that is underwater with a mortgage of $3.6 million, as well as three properties in the Chicago area, including one listed with a value of $1.4 million.

Walker, who did not speak during the hearing, has played with several different NBA teams. He won the NBA championship while playing for the Miami Heat, and was a three-time all-star for the Boston Celtics. In 2008, he played for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He also played briefly in Puerto Rico during the 2009-2010 season. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, Walker has been training at the University of Louisville with coach Rick Pitino, under whom he played at the University of Kentucky in the mid-1990s, and has been staging a comeback.

This is not Walker’s first brush with the law; in January 2009, he was arrested in Miami Beach on suspicion of drunk driving. He had been driving without headlights, and the arresting officer also noted a strong odor of alcohol in the car. That case is still pending.

The criminal charges in the casino-debt case could land Antoine Walker in prison for up to 12 years if he is convicted.

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